Knighthood for Vice Chancellor of The University of Nottingham

Professor Greenaway received the honour in recognition of his wide-ranging achievements in higher education and public service.

He has led the University as Vice-Chancellor since 2008 and made a significant contribution on the national and international stage, both within the education sector and in broader public life.

He was appointed to the University as a Professor of Economics in 1987 and was subsequently a Dean, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, and founding Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy. He is a Member of the Government's Asia Task Force and Higher Education Task Force, Chair elect of the CASE Europe Board or Trustees and a Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire.

Professor Greenaway said, “This is an extraordinary thing to have happened. When I received the offer, I was speechless, but sufficiently in control to accept by return of post!

“I am proud to have spent most of my working life at Nottingham, learning from many thousands of students and staff, and it has been a privilege to lead the University. This is just as much an honour for the University as it is for me.

“I and my family are immensely proud of this award."

The knighthood was conferred at an official ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Professor Greenaway is a renowned economist, researcher, teacher and academic leader with an international reputation.

As an academic, he continues to lecture on ‘Current Economic Issues’ to first-year undergraduates in the School of Economics. He is the editor of an academic journal and continues to publish research widely in the fields of exporting and productivity, cross-border investment, international trade and economic development.

As the Vice-Chancellor, he leads an institution with more than 44,000 students worldwide, 7,000 staff and a turnover of £570m (RM3.1 billion). The University is a trailblazer in global higher education, as the first foreign university in the world to establish a campus in mainland China (2004) and the first British institution to open a fully operational overseas campus, the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, in 2000.

Both Universities have gone from strength to strength since their establishment, and now have a combined total of more than 11,000 students. The University’s international footprint gives it a unique position in global higher education.

Professor Greenaway’s international profile – particularly in China – was confirmed when he was awarded honorary citizenship of Ningbo, the home of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Professor Greenaway’s public service has encompassed a wide range of roles.

As a Chairman and Member of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body between 1998 and 2010, he played a key part in advising the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on levels of pay, benefits and charges for members of the UK’s armed forces.

The position took him on fact-finding visits to many countries where service personnel are stationed overseas, so he could see first-hand the conditions under which they work from day to day.

Professor Greenaway has recently completed a major independent review that will help to shape the way doctors are trained in the UK. The ‘Shape of Training Review’ was a national review of the training and professional development of doctors in the UK.

Professor Greenaway was also a member of the UK Senior Salaries Review Body (2004-10) and has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the European Commission, the United Nations, the Department for Transport and the UK Treasury.

CHARITABLE FUNDRAISING

Professor Greenaway, 62, has played a personal role in the University’s biggest-ever fundraising campaign – so far cycling 3,000 miles over the last three years to raise more than £750,000 (RM 4.1 million).

In 2011, he led a team of University colleagues on the first ‘Life Cycle’ride: 1,030 miles from John O'Groats to Land's End, raising £232,000 (RM 1.2m) for research on palliative and end of life care. The following year they took on a longer route – from Cape Wrath to Dover – to raise funds to help improve access to further and higher education for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, raising £258,000 (RM 1.4m).

In 2013, he led the Life Cycle team on a route of more than 1,100 miles covering the capital cities of the UK and Republic of Ireland, raising £270,000 (RM1.47m) for stroke rehabilitation research.

This summer is their biggest challenge yet – a 1,400-mile ride to the four corners of Great Britain, to raise money for the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre. So far the team have raised almost £400,000, taking the Life Cycle total well past the £1m (RM5.47m) mark.

KNIGHTHOOD

A knighthood (or a damehood, its female equivalent) is one of the highest honours an individual in the United Kingdom can achieve. While in past centuries knighthood used to be awarded solely for military merit, today it recognises significant contributions to national life.

Recipients today range from actors to scientists, and from school head teachers to industrialists.

The Queen (or a member of the Royal Family acting on her behalf) confers knighthood in Britain, either at a public Investiture or privately.

The ceremony involves the ceremonial dubbing of the knight by The Queen, and the presentation of insignia.

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More information is available from Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager, The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus on +6 (03) 8924 8746 or Tim Utton, Deputy Director, Communications, The University of Nottingham on +44 (0)115 8468092.

Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also the most popular university among graduate employers, the world’s greenest university, and winner of the Times Higher Education Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the World's Top 75 universities by the QS World University Rankings.

Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.